For many urban women, egg freezing is increasingly becoming part of long-term life planning, much like buying insurance or investing for retirement. But unlike most financial goals, this one comes with a biological deadline, and it isn’t cheap.
The procedure typically costs ₹1.35- ₹3 lakh per cycle, with annual storage fees of ₹10,000–30,000 and potential IVF expenses later. For women considering it, egg freezing is a significant out-of-pocket commitment that sits at the intersection of healthcare, personal choice and financial planning.
For Delhi-based Aastha Gupta Aggarwal, freezing her eggs was a decision planned well in advance. Working in fertility care herself, she set a personal deadline: if she had not found the right partner by 30 or 31, she would preserve her fertility. She eventually went ahead with the procedure about eight years ago.
With more clinics now offering the service, prices have even softened, according to Gurugram-based fertility specialist Reubina Singh. Singh froze her eggs in 2014 for around ₹1.5 lakh and says many of her patients today pay about ₹1.35 lakh.
What to expect
Egg freezing is not a single bill but a series of medical steps spread across about two weeks.
Allahabad-based Tanaya Narendra, an embryologist who underwent egg freezing herself last year, said the expenses build up in stages.
The process begins with hormone injections for about 10 days to stimulate the ovaries so multiple eggs mature at once. This is the most expensive part of the cycle and cost Narendra about ₹80,000. The eggs are then retrieved in a short procedure under anaesthesia and frozen using cryopreservation techniques.
“This procedure cost me about ₹45,000. When you combine these costs with those of preliminary baseline blood tests and ultrasounds, you can expect to pay about ₹1.5 lakh. The cost can go up to ₹3 lakh if you go to fancier clinics or bigger hospitals,” she said. She also pays an annual storage fee of ₹15,000.
The broad numbers align with what several fertility clinics informed Mint. Across major cities, a typical egg-freezing cycle costs ₹1.3 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh, including medications, egg retrieval and vitrification (the freezing process).
Costs also vary by location. Clinics in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru charge ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh per cycle, while centres in Mumbai can charge up to ₹2.8 lakh. Annual storage costs typically range from ₹15,000 to ₹30,000.
These upfront procedure costs are for one cycle. Singh said older women, typically over 35, may need two cycles.
“While the number of cycles is recommended on a case-by-case basis, the general trend is that 50-60% women who go for the process after 35 years of age have to undergo two cycles as the egg reserve depletes with age. In each cycle, only about 30% eggs survive thawing and fertilization, so naturally the absolute number of eggs surviving decreases with age,” she said, adding that the cost for two cycles almost doubles as the injections, retrieval and vitrification are repeated.
If the eggs are eventually used, there is another step: IVF. However, the cost would be a portion of the standard IVF cycle, as most of the procedure is already done, said Aggarwal, a gynaecologist and obstetrician.. "The latter cost is limited mostly to fertilisation and embryo transfer,” she said.
Singh said while a full IVF cycle costs ₹1- ₹1.25 lakh, fertilization using frozen eggs costs roughly ₹30,000, though pricing varies across clinics.
Limited insurance options
Despite growing awareness, uptake remains modest, said experts. Singh said, “If 100 women come to ask about egg freezing, maybe five or ten actually go ahead with it.”
Many of these women are in their late thirties, according to Aggarwal, which often increases the overall cost because multiple cycles may be required.
Cost is one of the biggest deterrents. A Gurgaon-based brand strategist, who asked not to be named, said she has been considering egg freezing for past two to three years but has not taken the leap yet.
“I find it expensive and the process feels long,” the woman in her mid-thirties said. She needs two cycles to store a sufficient number of eggs, which significantly raises the bill.
One of the most popular hospitals in Gurgaon quoted ₹2.5 lakh for a single cycle, while others quoted ₹1.5 lakh. "Such packages often cover only certain components of the treatment. Costs like medicines or additional tests may be separate…It’s really quite expensive and definitely makes you think twice,” she said.
For some women, egg freezing can also feel like a financial gamble because there is no certainty the frozen eggs will be used. “Freezing eggs doesn’t mean that will be the only way a woman has a baby. If she conceives naturally later, the frozen eggs may never be used,” said Singh.
Another reason is that egg freezing is still largely self-funded with limited insurance support. Siddharth Singhal, head of health insurance at Policybazaar said egg freezing or cryo-preservation procedure coverage is currently available only with Bajaj Allianz, under its HERizon Care plan.
Atul Mishra, vice-president for personal insurance at Plum, said egg freezing is still largely excluded from health insurance in India. “To our knowledge, no standard health insurance plans currently offer egg freezing as an add-on. One insurer offers a rider that covers embryo freezing, which increases premiums by about ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 annually,” he said.
Even in corporate insurance policies, fertility benefits are rare. Plum’s analysis of employer health coverage shows that fewer than 10% of companies offer benefits for egg freezing or infertility treatment.
As a result, most women must plan for the expense themselves.
Plan ahead
Financial advisers say egg freezing is an unusual financial goal because it combines healthcare costs with a narrow time window.
Both Aggarwal and Singh suggest freezing eggs in the late twenties or early thirties, when egg quality is higher.
That timing also offers an opportunity to plan ahead financially, said Preeti Zende, a Sebi-registered investment adviser and founder of Apanadhan Financial Services.
“Women should budget ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh overall when considering the procedure, including possible fertility treatments later. A woman in her mid twenties who expects to consider egg freezing later may have two or three years to accumulate the amount.”
Zende suggests treating it like any other medium-term financial goal. A monthly investment of ₹7,000– ₹10,000 in short-term debt funds, ultra-short-term funds or recurring deposits could help build the corpus.
If IVF treatment may be required years later, additional savings could be allocated to balanced advantage or equity savings funds over a five-year horizon.
For some women, the decision often blends personal circumstances with professional awareness.
Narendra said she had planned egg freezing early after seeing fertility struggles in her medical practice. She eventually went ahead while going through a divorce. “I was 29 at the time and decided not to wait further,” said the 32-year-old.
For Aggarwal, egg freezing turned out to be a precaution she never needed. She later conceived naturally and now has two children, but still sees the procedure as a valuable option. "It gives women confidence that they have a backup,” she says.
In that sense, egg freezing resembles an insurance policy more than a traditional investment, something that requires planning but may never need to be used.